WMU-Cooley Law School board chair and alumni honored at SBM annual meeting

During the State Bar of Michigan’s (SBM) Annual meeting on Sept. 26 in Novi, WMU-Cooley Law School Board Chair Lawrence P. Nolan was presented with the Roberts P. Hudson Award. Alumna Mary Chartier was presented the Michael C. Franck Award; and alumni Aaron V. Burrell, of Dickinson Wright LLC, and Chelsea Rebeck, from Rebeck &?Allen in Southfield, were sworn in as SBM Representative Assembly chair and vice chair.

The Hudson Award is presented to commend attorneys for outstanding and unique service to and on behalf of the SBM, the legal profession, and public. Nolan’s service to the SBM and the profession are demonstrated through his volunteer service, which began when he was first elected to serve on the bar’s board of commissioners in 2009 and continued as he worked his way up through the executive board ranks attaining the role of president from 2016-2017.

Nolan, president of Nolan Thomsen & Villas, P.C., has continually been active with the SBM since 1978, when he began serving as a member of the Young Lawyers Section Council. He served on multiple committees and eventually as chair of the section from 1983-1984. Nolan’s dedication to the SBM is recognized by the many committees he has served on since 1984, some of which include: the Pro Bono Committee; Delivery of Legal Services Committee; Local Bar Association Review Committee; Prepaid Legal Services Committee; Health Insurance Committee; Judicial Qualifications Committee; Programs and Services Committee; Lawyers and Judges Assistance Program; Education and Events Committee; Public Policy Image and Identity Committee; the 21st Century Task Force; and others.

Nolan has served on WMU-Cooley’s board for 37 years, longer than any other board member, including the school’s founder – Justice Thomas Brennan.

Chartier’s award was given by the SBM Representative Assembly for outstanding contribution to the improvement of the profession.

As partner and litigator with Chartier Nyamfukudza P.L.C., Chartier has represented clients accused of white-collar crimes, such as health care fraud, mortgage fraud, and money laundering, as well as clients accused of drug dealing, terrorism, crimes against the United States, bank robbery, criminal sexual conduct, and homicide. She has litigated and won numerous motions, including obtaining a dismissal in a felony drug case in which the police illegally entered the client’s home. She was named one of Michigan Lawyers Weekly's “Leaders in the Law” in 2018 and one of the top “Women in the Law” in 2013. She also received the Distinguished Barrister's Award in 2018 by the Davis-Dunnings Bar Association.